Niall O'Riordan

You can read my article on Self-Mastery in the December 2011 issue of FLUTE available on the British Flute Society website members area.

www.bfs.org.uk

The latest edition of Flute, the British Flute Society's full-colour quarterly journal, is now available to members.

•Sarabande masterclass (William Bennett)
•Self-mastery (Niall O'Riordan)
•American accent (cover story) (Tammy Evans Yonce)
•Sticky solutions to a metal allergy (Pasha Mansurov)
•Jacques Zoon (cover story) (Matthew Lynch)

I am really looking forward to working with Marie, she is a fantastic coach. This workshop is not to be missed!!

Here you can find a really helpful video showing how to play scales. Sir James uses the Moyse - Daily exercises scale method and explains each section (A, B, C, D)

Sign up!

I have. These scales really make a huge difference in your playing. Commit to them for 30 Days

http://galwaynetwork.com/galwayscales/?page_id=11

If you want to use alternative fingerings it is wise to really practice them into the piece you are playing to really know what your fingers are doing and also what to do with the embouchure to temper the note.

This link has a good list of useful fingerings

 http://www.larrykrantz.com/whedrick.htm

I have been applying principals from ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’ by Deepak Chopra to my life but also trying to apply it directly to my playing. It might be interesting to explore this further in this blog.

First Law:

The Law of Pure Potentiality

“Take time to be silent, to just BE. Meditate for 30 minutes twice a day. Silently witness the intelligence within every living thing. Practice non-judgment.”

Taking this time to meditate has a powerful effect on your whole being and your music as a result. As a musician you need to find ways to connect to the source of your creativity. The creativity that is inherent in nature and the whole cosmos is also available to us to channel through our music. When the artist harnesses his personal way to do this the musical experience is truly profound.

You can view this as connecting to your higher self, universal energy, God... the label we put on it doesn’t matter. I believe what does matter is making that connection and opening up to the idea that our musical creativity comes from places far deeper that our minds can comprehend. The source of creativity is in limitless supply and abundant in its very nature.

To be continued....

I studied with Charlotte in Ireland (no pun intended) at the Cork School of Music. She is a great musician and a dear friend.

I found this entry in my journal from 2008, I thought it was quite simple and sweet. I use the term God in the broadest sense. For me this is simply the supreme universal energy, you could substitute it for whichever term connects with you the most.

God bless the air that’s in my lungs,

God bless my fingers and my thumbs.

God guide my eyes to see the light,

God fill my heart with your delight.

God watch and guide me as I play,

God bless the souls I touch today.

© Niall O’Riordan 2008

Photography By Niall O'Riordan

Flautist: Eimear McGeown visit www.eimearmcgeown.com

Yes, Eimear does play as beautiful as she looks!!

Some interesting thoughts about our 'core'. What we really mean when we use the term, do we mean an actual a physical part of us?

Flautists Poem

By Niall O'Riordan

I blow and express what's deep inside,
I blow with joy of God beside,
My flute is empty, just like me,
My breath gives life, divinity.

I take God's breath and tell his tale,
It is not me, I cannot fail.
I release the fear within my heart,
I unite with God and never part.

I shine a light from deep within,
This light shows others how to begin
Upon a sacred path of truth,
Knowledge, wisdom, eternal youth.

God above or God within,
It's all the same, we are of Him.
I blow and show my God inside,
I vow to bless all human kind

Life is beautiful,

It is like a big park and you are safe,

You can explore to your heart?s desire.

Have fun like a big park.

My beauty is all around you,

Your potential is as vast as the sky,

Your presence is as strong as the earth,

You are as free as that dog playing,

Your love spreads like the wind and washes over humanity.

Body, Mind and Spirit like a bird calling -

Three utterances but one call.

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.

Mark Twain

I read a very interesting article today in a yoga magazine about our relationship with time. It really got me thinking how a musician relates to time. After all, it is the medium which music exists. I think most of us struggle with time management.  Ideally we should not be in constant battle with it and search for a happier relationship. How many occasions have we said 'I wish I had more time'. I think a good step is to accept the time we have and work with the present moment. Think of the time you have now as just that, 'a present', a gift to devote to something you love, relish it! Take the time you have to devote to your playing with grace no matter how big or how small. I am sure with this accepting attitude we will discover what great things we can create in short time periods and approach our practice from positive perspective.

I am just back from spending a lovely few days at the Oxford Flute Summer School, and of course I am inspired as ever. It is always an inspiration see Peter Lloyd giving masterclasses as well as Michael Cox and Kathrine Kemler.

It was very interesting to hear Michael Cox speaking about tone in one class. He mentioned we must no forget what the flute can do naturally-which is to play with a simple, as he put it 'primitive' sound. The haunting flute sound is one of the biggest strengths of our instrument, yet we forget to use it. This natural sound is very important and I think here in the UK many players are too tempted by fullness and volume.

Watch this space